Some of us have huge Active Directory environments, while others have smaller to medium-sized installations. Regardless of size, it can be difficult to find what you need in Active Directory due to the sheer size of your enterprise and the number of objects stored in your domain(s). Microsoft has yet to devise an easy and efficient method for finding and managing objects stored in Active Directory.

Why struggle with outdated tools such as Active Directory Users and Computers when you can use a tool that is specifically designed to overcome common administrator needs, and built to make Active Directory management easy and efficient?

ADManager Plus is a tool made for just this purpose. Let’s consider a scenario.

There is a year-long project going on in the Engineering department. There are hundreds of employees involved, not to mention the numerous groups created to manage all aspects of the project. Of course, you (the administrator) are not involved with the project, except for the fact that you created the user accounts and groups. You do not deal with the project on a daily, or even weekly, basis.

However, you are tasked with updating the membership of existing groups every so often. Each time this task comes to you, you struggle to find the correct group(s) you need to modify to ensure the project isn’t delayed. Trying to use the native Microsoft tools is frustrating.

So let’s use ADManager Plus, which provides on-the-fly group management.

To find the group you need to manage, simply type the group name in the ADManager Plus search box, as shown in Figure 1.

Once you find all the objects with the name you input, as shown in Figure 2, simply double click the correct group to view an easy to see and manage window that will help you manage your group, as you can see in Figure 3.

Figure 2. Search results are easy to see and read.

Figure 3. Object management is just a double-click away.

Managing groups on the fly lets you do the following:

–General group management such as group type, manager, etc.

–Group membership management (both those groups the group is nested in and those objects located in the group)

–Exchange-related group functions

–Custom attributes

Having the option to quickly find and manage groups, as opposed to trying to use the antiquated Microsoft tools, can give you more time to perform other tasks. Efficiency is one of the most important aspects of ADManager Plus. See for yourself by downloading a free, 30-day trial of the product here.